Blog - The Rogue MFA

Kelly ChastainJune 4, 2026

The Oldest Visual Storytelling Tool is Also the Best One. Maps.

They do way more work than simply look cool

If you write any genre of historical fiction, and that can include romance, fantasy, etc… you already know the power of a great map. Maps aren’t the only visual elements that you can add to your story, but they make it…

Way more visually appealing and/or interesting
Easier to write

We’re heading back to A Gentleman in Moscow, because of course we are. By the time I’m through with all this teachin’, you’ll know that book up one side and down the other. Just like the structural breakdown, this book does a ton of great work when it comes to adding visual elements to a story.

Load Bearing Imagery

I love maps so much that I have a giant book of rare and antique maps that I have to pack in a special box every time I move because of its gigantic irregular size. Worth it.

Yes, maps are cool and loads of fun to look at, but they do more for your story than simply give your reader the lay of the land. They can help us to visually understand distance and scale, the separation of class or social hierarchies, and see what’s important to the society. Open spaces, town wells, and alleys all give us a sense of what this place is like.

This is the opening page to AGIM. Most people would argue that the first page is the court transcript that immediately follows the map. Don’t be fooled. Because the first words we read in this story are right at the top of the map.

And just like that, we’ve established the Time and Place. It will be confirmed in the court transcript on the following pages, but right here, a ton of your work has just been done for you.

Visual Way Marking & Prioritization

While maps can tell us a lot about the society we’re about to immerse ourselves in, your novel’s map can also prime your readers for what’s to come. Notice the handful of places that are marked and named. Only the ones that are mentioned in the story and have relevance to Count Rostov, The Gentleman’s, life get a mention.

By marking these places, you familiarize your reader with your character’s world before they’ve stepped one foot into it. This is done remarkably well with the expanded inset map. We can see where the Count will spend damn near every single page of this book, and how so many amazing places are right there in the neighborhood.

Sourcing and Making Maps

You don’t have to be a cartographer, or lug around a giant volume of antique maps, in order to have a map of your own. Now if you’re writing historical fantasy, making the map is half the fun. However, we focus on historical fiction and romance here.

Sourcing

The David Rumsey Map Collection contains over 200,000 maps from the 16th-20th centuries. Mostly of places in North and South America, but there are also maps from all over the world in this set, and that were created outside that timeframe. It’s worth a search.
Don’t sleep on Wikimedia Commons and searching within their collection. They have millions of free images for use, including some maps.

Creating

You can also create your own map like AGIM’s.

MapChart online helps you create custom maps for your project
Canva also has a map generator
I’ve taken a map of Vienna from 1830, pulled it into ProCreate on my iPad, and traced an outline of the parts of the city that I needed. I even made an inset map.

If you’re attempting traditional publishing, having some semblance of a map is helpful. It will probably be redrawn by an artist or graphic designer. If you’re wanting to self-publish, you’ll need to provide the map yourself.

Join our Writing Community Hour over on The Rogue MFA YouTube channel (which meets every other Thursday evening at 4pm PST/ 7pm EST), where we’ll be building routine and community with YOU. Subscribe to get notified, and if you’re even a little bit interested, please fill out our quick survey so we can expand these in the future with you in mind.

Kelly ChastainMay 28, 2026

How To Give Written Feedback on Creative Writing Without Ruining The Friendship

The full roadmap from your fav English teacher

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I suppose we should get this part out of the way first. The more tenderhearted among us will always think you’re a dick, even when they’ve asked for your honest feedback. Even when you’re being helpful and kind, and not at all using “just being honest” as a weapon.

After giving feedback on hundreds and hunnnnnnndreds of pieces of fiction, there are some strategies that help more than others. Hopefully, you’re working with someone who’s given you some guidelines for what they want. And if they haven’t, send them here and you’ll save yourselves a whole lotta heartache.

Now, if they’ve given you a document with guidelines, good. And one more time for the folks in the back – If they haven’t send them here. For the love of God, do not pass Go. Do not collect $200 until they’ve done it. Now that that’s settled…

Copy Their List of Questions

And paste them at the end of their draft. DO NOT read them before you read their work. Didn’t I just tell you to make them fill out this document so you’d know what you were up against before you started? Yes, I sure did. But here’s why pasting their questions into the end of their document works in everyone’s favor, and makes you a more honest reviewer.

We’re biased bitches. The moment we know the writer’s concern, we start looking for ways for the work to make sense, because we’ve just been told us it’s supposed to make sense, or they’re trying like hell to make it make sense.
- Even when it’s worded like – I tried to differentiate the men in the train car by giving one a mustache and the other a midwestern accent. Was it enough?
- So instead of just reading it and allowing yourself to be honestly confused or not, you end up scrutinizing the scene as you go, looking for evidence and theorizing if it’s working or not. That’s not honest feedback. It’s a crime scene investigation.
Sometimes a question is – Does my plot twist work, where the woman tries robbing the ticket agent and he ends up robbing her instead?
- Shit. A great plot twist is supposed to take you unawares. Only now you’re 100% aware of what’s coming and you’re suddenly back to theorizing if it worked.

In Text Notes

These aren’t line edits, but places where you’ll make a comment because you loved something, were confused, have a question, or want to remark on the work. Please, if you loved a part, say so. Writers will sometimes edit out the best parts because they didn’t know they were working. Feedback isn’t reduced to only telling the writer what’s giving you heartburn.

Here are actual notes I gave to a student on her short story during lockdown. Let’s go through them.

In her work, I highlighted particular lines of text and each comment corresponds to those lines. Instead of being vague with your writer, show them in the moment what you’re talking about by flagging the text. Here’s what works in these comments.

Providing context
- I had to read this a few times.
- I’m super invested and want to know more.
- I’d like to know X right here because I think that would help me, as the reader, understand Y better.
Start every comment with something positive or reassuring. Taking the rest of the feedback is so much easier and it increases camaraderie.
- I love this element because it gives an “everything is rotting vibe.”
- “I have a habit of doing this too.”

In this case, I was the prof. So adding suggestions on how she might go about revising the work made sense. We were learning craft techniques in class. So here, you’ll see me say things like, “This is a great place to compare/contrast…”

BUT, I also add things like, “How would you feel about chopping this line?” Because at the end of the day, it’s not my story. The best written feedback asks questions of the writer instead of giving directives or getting prescriptive.

End Notes

First, answer their list of questions that you’ve copied and pasted here. Use the same tactics as the in-text notes if you need to.

After that, it’s a great idea to write a few paragraphs for the author. This is where you can explain your overall take and add comments about theme or elements of the story that unfolded over time and wouldn’t make sense line for line. These are the section headers I always use and that tend to give writers truly useful info.

This is what I read
- Give a short summary of the story. This is the most direct way for the writer to understand what stood out to you, what you think their story is really about, and how the work was perceived overall. It’s massively illuminating.
- Plus it’s great practice for writing your own synopsis.
Here’s what worked
- This is pretty straightforward. You load the hell out of this with praise. And if you can’t find something to praise, you’re not reading hard enough. There’s always something good. Pacing, structure, word choice, the character’s epic neon green hair. Pan for gold in sewage if you have to, but find the nugget and put it on display.
Here’s where I struggled
- Never: Here’s what’s completely fucked up about your story.
- Always: Point to your struggle as the reader. This is the paragraph where you give overarching context around the places didn’t make sense for you. Where you might not have fully bought a character’s motivation, the underlying power dynamics, or a plot point.
Suggestions if you want them
- And that’s exactly what you name that section. Do. Not. Deviate.
- The first sentence is always something along the lines of – In case you’re stumped on how to rework the plot point/unbelievable power dynamics/character motivation/etc… I WONDER IF YOU MIGHT TRY…
  - Never: DO X to dig yourself out of this godforsaken hole you’ve dug yourself into.
  - Always: Have you thought about? OR, you know how in (Insert a book they know) character so-in-so did (the big plot point), I wonder if using a similar strategy might make your character’s motivation clearer BECAUSE…
    - Then you tell them why you think this suggestion might be something worth considering. And if you can’t tell them why it’s worth considering, then take it as a sign that it’s probably not.

I hope that helps you navigate the next time you’re asked to read someone’s work, and gives you a roadmap for giving written feedback that will actually help your fellow writer. All without being a jerk in the process.

Bri CastelliniMay 21, 2026

How To Give Feedback on Creative Writing in Person So That People Actually Listen

So that people actually listen… and you get better feedback in return

If you can’t give feedback constructively, your writing community is unlikely to offer it back in return, which you need in order to become a stronger writer. Just because you’re “right” doesn’t mean it’s a good note, and while it’s straightforward enough to fix a grammatical error, when actually talking to another writer about their work and getting philosophical about it, there are more things you’ll want to consider before opening your damn mouth.

Start with the positives

Never start a feedback message, verbal session, or email with critique. It sets the wrong tone and immediately puts the other person on the defensive.

If you can find nothing nice to say, nothing the writer has succeeded in, then perhaps in the future you shouldn’t continue your feedback relationship with this person. Though if you can’t find a single thing nice to say, you probably aren’t looking hard enough. However, you still aren’t released from this requirement. Don’t lie to them, but if you must, dig deep:

Is the premise strong?
Do you like the character, or see potential in one?
Is the setting interesting?

There must have been a reason (outside of if you’re in school and forced to interact with this person) you decided to swap critiques.

In my foolish youth, I used to hate this advice. “If I don’t remark on it, I must have liked it or found nothing wrong with it! Everyone’s so sensitive!” Thankfully I’ve distanced myself from my libertarian upbringing, and also, realized I was a hypocrite. We share work to get better at our craft, absolutely, but it would be a lie to say we share it only for that reason. We’re also looking for validation that we’re on the right track, and even a single encouraging comment before a brutal critique session can be the inspiration we need to keep at it, to keep growing and improving.

Not to mention- you also want the writer to know what to keep!

It’s not just a kindness to start with compliments; it also makes the other person more receptive to notes. Would you trust notes from someone who finds nothing redeemable, apparently, about the work? Probably not. For the same reason I don’t trust notes on romance novels from my grandma who hates romance novels, I don’t trust notes from people who can’t find even one nice thing to say.

Ask yourself: what are they writing?

I would say the number one reason why feedback is rejected is because it’s not in line with the reality of the piece. This can manifest in a few ways, like a romance author getting feedback that it’s weird how often the characters have internal monologues referencing how attractive they find the other person, or a horror writer who gets notes about how in order to appeal to all ages, maybe they should dial back the blood and gore.

I’ve also seen this be problematic even more broadly, and it usually comes from this: the person giving feedback is attempting to shape the in-progress work to what they would write/would prefer to read, rather than helping it become the piece it intends to be. Occasionally the best thing to do is walk away with regrets- “I don’t think I’m the right audience for this piece, so my feedback would likely not be relevant.”

However, I think that feedback from sources less intimately familiar with the genre or format of the piece can be enlightening (to a degree), so it’s worth taking the time, before you start making comments in their document, to really ask yourself the question: what is this? What does it want to be? And how can my feedback help it be a better version of what it already is?

Be specific and actionable

“This is bad/not working” is not a real note. How can you make your feedback ACTIONABLE? What are you actually encouraging the writer to DO with your note? Change a word? Rethink a character motivation? Add a scene? Remove one?

Dig deeper when you’re explaining yourself- WHY is something not working for you? The fact that it’s not working is useful, but until you give them context for why not, you’re asking them to build IKEA furniture in the dark. They now know their first attempt was wrong, and they have all the pieces to get the fifteen differently shaped screws into the correct places, but wouldn’t this all be easier if you brought them a flashlight?

Only offer suggestions when asked

It’s often more constructive to let the person receiving feedback come up with their own solutions to a creative note, because at the end of the day, it’s their piece. Not yours. A writer interpreting someone else’s detailed instructions will always be less inspired (and likely less integrated with the rest of the piece) than someone taking a note and finding a way to interpret it within the context of what they’re already trying to do.

Of course, sometimes people want a suggestion. Sometimes they’re stuck, or they’re simply struggling to find the screw (THANKS, IKEA. THEY ALL LOOK THE SAME) with just a flashlight to guide them. I still maintain you shouldn’t have a singular “this is the right idea” pitch when you’re not a co-writer and are just meant to be a sounding board, so in that case, have two or three pitches. Give them some options, to show them they aren’t stuck and to ensure that there’s still a level of agency in their creative decision-making.

Even better, even when solicited, play the favorite game of every teacher that every student hates (but secretly benefits from): refuse to answer, and ask them questions. Go back a scene or two, interrogating the writer on what the engines of those earlier, working segments, were doing. Look at what comes next, and ask about the different ways and reasons to connect the disparate segments.

You have to let them find their own answers, even if you need to add a few new flashlights to the search (IKEA metaphor again, keep up!). Because ultimately, the only person who’s capable of turning on the overhead light is the writer themselves. As soon as you’re the one flipping that switch, it’s not their GRÖNKULLA anymore, it’s yours.

Your taste is not infallible

It’s easy to get caught up offering feedback to someone else to make their work more your taste/vision. Even when you’re collaborators, you aren’t going to get your way 100% of the time, and that doesn’t make the other people wrong. It makes them different.

Giving notes is vulnerable, and I don’t want to invalidate that. It’s less vulnerable than receiving them, obviously, but offering encouragement and advice on someone’s work is still a creative exercise. So just remember that this process isn’t personal, and at the end of the day, the work you’re thinking deeply about isn’t yours. You might disagree with how someone implements your feedback (or refuses to), but it’s not your work, and it’s important you remember that before you dig in.

Writers could stand to be less defensive about getting feedback, but editors and readers have some deep breathing exercises to do as well. I’ve seen feedback-givers foaming at the mouth, doggedly harassing a writer with the same note over and over in successive sessions after revisions have been made because the writer decided to reject it.

It’s one thing if the fundamental issue hasn’t been fixed, at which point you should probably revise the way you’re giving the note, but your particular note is not special or sacred, and this is not your piece of writing. [Olaf voice] Let it go.